Snare-drum muffler.



"No. 889,053.' PATENTED MAY 26, 19v.

' G. A. SMITH.

SNARE DRUM MUFFLER. APPLICATION FILED MAY 24. 1907.

Qubevufoz q E Romans! exact description of ,theinventiom-suc'h as GEORGE AUGUST SMITH, OF COUNCIL BLUFFS, IOWA.

SNARE-DRUM MUFFLER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 26, 1908.

Application filed May 24, 1907. Serial No. 375,503.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE AUGUST SMiTiI, a citizen of the United States, resid ing at Council Bluffs, in the county of Pottawattamie and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Snare-Drum. Mufflers; and I do hereby declare the following to' be a full, clearfand will enable others'skilled in the art to which it appe'rtains to make and use the same' This invention relates to improvements in drum snare tensioning' devices and inuffiers. The object of the invention is the production of a mufiier and snare stretching device which provide means for stretching the snares of the drum, and various adjusting means for 'adjus ting the tension of the snares together with a cam and cam lever for loosening and again tightening their adjustment.

With these and other objects -'in'i iew the invention comprises certain novel construe tions, combinations and arrangements of.

parts that will be hereinafter described and claimed. I

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1' is a fragmentary sectional view of a'drum having secured thereto'a'niuffier constructed according to the present invention, the same being shown in an inoperative or loose position. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view through a drum with a muffler formed'according to the present invention secured thereto and in an operative position. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary top form view of a drum provided with a muffler according to the present invention. Fig. 4 is a section through the .muffler detached, .on line 4.4 of

Fig. 2. Fig. -5 is a detail face view ofthe snare adjusting device.

In roviding snares and tensioning devices there orf-it'has beenfound desirable to arrange such devices so as to bring the snares underproper tensionand to maintain their tension'fby'th'e snareholding devices, regardlessofwhether o'r'not the drum heads are adjusted. Various devices have been provided with varying success, to accomplish this purpose, and it is to this class of devices that the present invention relates.

a In providing 'a device of this character-l construct the same with a plate or sustaining member 1 of any desired width, which is designed to be held parallel to the shell ol the drum'2. and tohave its upper end substanthe snares without varying" tially on the same plane as the upper end of the hoop or band 3 of the drum. In placing thepresentinvention in position I first place 4 a ring or band 4: within the drum at any desired distance from the end thereof, andpass therethrough a bolt-5 and secure the same in position by a nut 6. Asuitable washer-7 is preferably rigidly secured to bolt 5 so as to provide means whereby nut 6 may firmly hold bolt 5 in position.

A screw-threaded washer 7 is provided .for holding the lower end of member 1 at a proper distance from the shell 2 and a suit able set or look nutS isprovided for clamping member 1 against nut7, and in this mannermemberl is held substantially parallel with shell 2.; Memberfl is -formed with a slot 9 through which bolt 5 passes so as to permit the member to be adjusted vertically ito-any desired position. The upper 'end of member 1 is bent so as to form ears 10 through which a pivotal rivet 11 is designed to pass, for holding'inposition an arn1 12. .Arm" 12 'is formed at one end m'th an enlarged portion 13, which is designed to accommodate 'a' bolt 14, which is formed with an enlargedportion forming shoulders as 15. Formed 'on the portion 13 is a tooth or projection 16 which is designed, to fit into a corresponding depression "in the end or enlarged-portionxl? of member 18. The enlarged portion' 17 is formed with a passage therethrough thatis screw-threaded for receiving the bolt 14, while enlarged portion '13 is formed with a passageway therethrough, but without the screw-threads, so that when the bolt "l-isrotated thesame will draw member 17 against member 13 and hold the same firmly in position, tooth 16 preventing any swinging motion after members 13 and 17 have been brought in contact. Formed on the set screw or bolt 24 in any desired position.

Positioned opposite tobolt 5. is another securing member or bolt 26, which is designed to sustain a tension member 27. Tension member 27 may be moved upward or downward for varying the tension of snares 28 by reciprocating shaft or member 29. Shaft 29 is held in any desired position by a suitable set screw 30, so as to form a positive securing means for the snares 28. The snares after leaving tension 27 are designed to pass upward and over the head of the drum in any convenient manner, but preferably pass through ring 8. A slot or passageway 31 is provided for the passage of snares 28, and in this way the head of the drum may be tightened or loosened and rim 3 moved without affecting the tension of snares 28. As will be seen from the drawing, the snares 28, after passing from member 27, are designed to contact with. the drum head for thefull width thereof, and be held in position by member 27.

In operation, after ring 4 and the remain ing pants of the muflier have been placed in position the snares 28 are secured to member 27 and to member 18, and tightened to any desired extent, and set screw 30 is forced against member 29 for locking the same in position. The snares are preferably adjusted in this manner, but if for any reason thesnares are not exactly in the condition 'desired, set screw 24 may be moved one way or the othenwhich will either draw member 18 closer to rim 3 or permit the same to be drawn away from rim 3 and consequently vary the tension of the snares. After the snares have been brought under proper tension between the members 18 and 27 they are in condition for operation'and will remain in this condition until the various mechanism for bringing the same finally under tension is operated.

It will be observed that none of the tension devices is secured to the drum head or the tightening rin or band of the drum, so that the drum hea may be tightened or loosened to an desired extent without in the least aflectmg the snares. When it is desired to tighten or loosen the drum head, cam lever or arm 22 is rotated so as to permit cam arm 22 to take a position at the deepest point in cam surface 19, which will permit-member 18 to take the position shown in Fig. 1. The drum head may then be adjusted to any desired tension and after such adjustment cam lever 22 is rotated to theposition shown in Fig. 2, and snare 28 will be again brought in contact with the drum head for ,the entire width thereof. From this it will be observed that the movement of the cam lever 22 will loosen or tighten snares 28, but will always loosen and tighten the same to the same deree, so that when the snares are tightened y rotating cam 22 to the position shown in Fig. 2 the snares will alwaysbe under the tension formerly brought to, without in any way readjusting the same.

\ What I claim is:

1. A device of the character described comprising a tensioning device, snares secured thereto, snare adjusting means, said means comprising a supporting member, a pivotally mounted mem )er, adjustable snare holding means secured to said pivotally mounted member, a cam for varying the position of said pivotally mounted member, and independent means for varying action of the cam.

. 2. A device of the character described comprising a drum, a snare tensioning device secured to the shell of said drum, means for varying the position of said tensioning device, snares secured to said tensioning device, and a lever for varying the position of said snares, both the snare adjusting means and snare tensioning means being independent of the hoop of said drum.

3. A device of the character described comprising a drum, snares therefor, means for holding one end of the snares in position, an arm for holding the other end in position, a lever for varying the 1position of said arm, means for su )porting t e lever, an enlargement on said lever provided with a cam surface, a sleeve passing through said enlargement, means for supporting said sleeve, and a device contacting with the cam surface for operating the lever.

4. A device of the character described, comprising a drum asnare, means for holding one end of the same in position, independent of the hoop pf the drum, an arm for holding the other end in position, a pivotally mounted arm for varying the position of said firstmentioned arm, a plate adjustably secured to the shell of said drum, said plate support ing the second-mentioned arm, and means for varying the position of said secondmentioned arm for moving said first-mentioned arm for bringing said snares into operation.

In testimony whereof I .afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses. Y GEORGE AUGUST SMITH.

lVitnesses:

GEO. CARSON, Gno. D CARSON. 

